Manaus, Brazil

On the anniversary of the birth of Richard Barnes we are in Manaus...still; I think Houdini would struggle to get out of this place. There are three roads out of the city, two are closed, and the boat along the amazon towards the Peru border takes six days. We decided to fly to Tabatinga (there's a plane every few days), the last outpost of Brazil on the Peru/ColumbiaÂ border on the 9am flight tomorrow.Â Turns out we're booked on the same flight as William; we just hope that airport security manage to conviscate his animal porn and knife collection before he boards the plane. However, jumping into a cab to the airport with a Belgian axe murderer has the advantage of making the fare cheaper.

So we have been back in Manaus since Monday and haven't really been around the city. There are few sites of interest - William did invite us to a craft museum but we declined; anyway, Legally Blonde was on the Universal Channel in the hotel room. The extreme heat makes it an effort to go anywhere and we're sweating so much that people think we're French. Besides, we spent so much energy celebrating the discovery of a two-pin plug in the hair-straighteners that we're knackered.

Even the locals are finding it hot, Marcelo in particular, who was incidentally supposed to meet us for beers last night but ended up falling asleep and missing his chance to entertain Ashington's finest minor celebrity and the only red headed man in Brazil. Again, the people we have met in Manaus have been exceptionally helpful and friendly - unless you ask how to get out of the city, in which case they just shrug and walk off whistling.

Will we finally get out of Manaus?, will we ever smell normal again?, will the hotel ever find their missing pot plant?, what movie will be on the Universal channel tonight? (I hope it's some thrilling romantic comedy starring some Americans with nice teeth!)